Despite the collapse of mortgage loans, personal loans, the lower use of cards and the contraction of several lines of credit to the private sector, the banking sector continues to earn money in Argentina.
So much so that in 2018, with almost all economic variables playing against, it achieved a return of more than $ 170,000 million, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 121%.
In order to remove inflation from the calculation, one of the best ways is to compare the result of the annualized net worth (ROE) of the sector: well, it grew almost 50% (from 23% to 35%), according to the Central Bank .
These good figures explain to a large extent why, despite everything and against all odds, the main entities are still betting on Argentina and moving forward with their business plans.
In recent years, traditional banking has been changing its façade, with different branches, more friendly, more aggiornated and adapted to the new needs of its customers.
Now, banks entered a new stage marked by technological progress, with smart ATMs and innovative equipment that will completely change the experience for users of financial services.
In that sense, the main players of the system are converting part of their old subsidiaries or inaugurating new ones, equipped with the latest technology. These "4.0 branches" came to the country to stay. From now on, they will coexist with the traditional model.
"We are trying to unify the experience of digital channels in the physical world, all the transformation that the physical branch is going to make," says Diego Baccini, manager of the Banco Galicia branch network, in dialogue with iProUP.
"We are redesigning what is the model of each of them and rethinking everything that happens within that space", he adds, giving an account of the process faced by the bank.
Guillermo Mansilla, retail banking manager at Banco Hipotecario, says they are in a new stage, characterized by the change in format and the way customers are served.
"We are looking at what operations can be done personally and in what kind of transactions will require the presence of a business officer," says the executive and adds: "The model of physical branches, at least in our country, will continue to exist in the medium term".
One of the banks that took the lead in terms of technological progress was ICBC, which at the beginning of April inaugurated one of them with previously unreleased machines in the country, such as a vending machine for debit and credit cards, or with distinctive services, such as a small stand in which they are sold from notebooks to coffee machines.
With the focus on the client
"The client chooses not only where, but also how he wants to be served," says Gonzalo Díaz Solá, Head of Electronic Banking and Digital Channels at ICBC Argentina, at the presentation of the branch to the press.
"If you are looking for quick attention, you can do it using technology, and if you prefer to take your time and share a moment with an account officer, to talk about investments or a particular product, you can do it," he adds.
The new subsidiary is labeled internally as "digital full". This means that it has a sector with automated attention, commercial advisors and two video assistants that dialogue with the user remotely. However, it also has the traditional services of the traditional branch, such as the line of security boxes and chests.
Meanwhile, the "classic digital" calls are those that have automatic banking services but lack ATMs.
Open environments and less "friction" with the customer
When a person enters this new subsidiary (located on Calle Pierina Dealessi 180, Puerto Madero) the way in which it is received by the advisors also differs from the classic reporting counter of traditional spaces.
High tables, with sidewalks on both sides, notebooks for the account executive and tablets for the user so you can move there what you could have found on the bank's website.
That way more descontracturado, that leaves behind the cold walls of concrete of the old branches, also is prevailing in the Hipotecario.
"You start to take care of the customer in open places, so you are not looking at a bank with tall walls and boxes, everything is closed, but you see a much more open and friendly surface, the idea is that you have an experience without so much friction develop what you need ", explains Mansilla to iProUP.
With this philosophy, the Mortgage Department opened its first branch in the area of ââcourts, in the format of digital channels, with two key points: on the one hand, equipped with technological modules in which one person can do all kinds of operations and on the other, with greater presence of open areas.
"It is an evolution of society," said Mansilla, "even though we understand that beyond having a very good technological platform to obtain a mortgage loan, there are still clients who want to process a loan in person". The plan outlined includes the conversion of up to 10 branches, out of a total of 63, before the end of the year.
To open an account or take out a credit card, more and more people do it without going to the branch, highlights Mansilla.
"All this progress has to do with a new format," he adds. It recognizes that with a greater number of digital processes the bank gains in efficiency, and calculates that "the unit cost of an operation can decrease up to 30%".
More areas with WiFi
Meanwhile, one of the concrete advances that are being analyzed in Galicia is the possibility of offering WiFi in a greater number of branches. The Central Bank enables you to have this service, only you have to keep in mind the security regulations that establish not to use the telephone if you are near the cashier.
"In the first instance, we have advanced in those in which we do not have cash, which are part of the multiformat model that we develop: they already have WiFi available and free," says Baccini. The second step, he adds, is to take this benefit to those in which the box is located in a different place to the commercial platform.
"In these branches we are going towards the authorization of the use of the cell phone, because there is no risk, and over time we will see how the possibility of making or receiving calls is developed in the zones of the window," the executive of Galicia advances.
The possibility of providing WiFi is key to developing and offering other products within the subsidiaries. For example, nowadays credit cards are processed digitally, via smartphones. "We abandoned the role as a customer's high-end methodology and transformed it into a digital high-end process," Baccini emphasizes.
According to details, the user does not sign any paper and only has to authorize the registration through a token online. This initiative, which Galicia initiated last year, has already been implemented in all its branches.
The brand new subsidiary that ICBC opened, which demanded an investment of 1.8 million dollars, is part of its technological transformation plan, which they internally refer to as ICBC Evolución.
"Its objective is the reconversion through the incorporation of open banking technologies, the development of means of payment through the web and of agile and efficient platforms, as well as the opening of branches that link our digital capabilities with the present ones, making it easier and comfortable to operate, "says Gonzalo Díaz Solá.
The pillar of the plan is to accompany the digital evolution of the client and be tailored to what is needed, adds Díaz Solá. "We made this space to try new models of care," he says. The idea is to open here between 6 and 7 subsidiaries of this style and reconvert a total of 20.
A noteworthy fact is that Argentina is the first country in the region in which ICBC implemented this innovation that in China expands to most of its 16,000 branches.
The fact that the first "digital full" subsidiary installed in the country is in Puerto Madero is not accidental. According to Díaz Solá, the proximity to the parent company, which is less than 200 meters away, is key to testing the feedback of this subsidiary model among its customers.
Face to face with the client, from the screen
In the branch there are two Video Assistant modules, one sheltered behind a glass door, which disappear when one enters in order to give privacy to the client, and another open, next to the ATMs.
There, the user communicates remotely with specialized personnel, from where you can register as a user, obtain new products, make claims and generate passwords, validating the identity by fingerprint or ID, without the need to enter passwords.
The Renaper (National Registry of Persons) is responsible for biometrically validating customer data. Something similar is offered by Galicia, which has the Conecta program, with which some 120 account officers develop the relationship with users remotely.
"We imagine that the customer will increasingly require this type of link: agile, simple, fast, digital solutions, at the moment when they are doing an operation," says Baccini.
Another ICBC innovation, unique in Argentina and available at this location, is the Central de Tarjetas, a team that sells credit plastics, without envelopes or card-carriers.
"The machine stores up to 1,080 cards and every morning, when the new plastics are entered, the system automatically identifies them and sends an e-mail to customers to let them know that they can move them out," explains Diáz Solá.
Also, looking to bring technology to people, the space also has a large touch screen in the style of a giant cell phone with which you can learn to use the mobile application in a simple way, through a simulator that emulates all your functions, and download it to your cell phone by scanning a QR code.
In terms of smart tellers, Galicia is testing some models with more complex transactions and even with remote human monitoring.
"At these ATMs, a person may be counting at the moment an inconvenience arises," explains Baccini, adding that in these terminals can be cashed checks and extract money for increased funds among other things.
In the future, as they stand out in the market, the modernization of automatic banking will have much to do with the habit and habit of the public, rather than with the opportunities for new tools.
In summary, streamline processes so that the client saves time in their banking procedures, key to improving the experience with a financial institution.
